Dumas hitchhiker dies following accident

Police are investigating the death of a 46-year-old Dumas man early Friday morning.

Authorities responded to a report of a hit-and-run about midnight Thursday, when witnesses found Joe Luis Rodriguez along the southbound lane of U.S. Highway 287, about 10 miles north of Dumas.

The Texas Department of Public Safety said Rodriguez was able to tell investigators he'd been hitchhiking.

Rodriguez was flown to Northwest Texas Hospital in Amarillo, where he died about 1:30 a.m. Friday, authorities said.

Investigators said Rodriguez appeared to have no physical marks on his body indicating he'd been struck by a car, and were waiting for autopsy results Monday that might shed light on the cause of his death.